This invention relates to improvements in apparatus and method for molding an agglomerable edible material, and more specifically to improvements in molding apparatus and method which are the subject matter of applicant's copending application Ser. No. 507,701, filed Sept. 20, 1974, and entitled MOLDING APPARATUS AND METHOD. In particular, this invention relates to improved means for feeding the edible material from a hopper into individual mold cavities in the apparatus, and to improved means for separating patties formed in each individual mold cavity from a reciprocating barrier means which pushes each patty out of the mold cavity.
The food machinery industry has long made hamburger patties, meatballs, fishcakes, onion rings, and the like on a mass production basis. Applicant's basic apparatus for making patties of edible food material is an improvement upon this prior art and is disclosed in his co-pending application Ser. No. 507,701, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,035, and is fully incorporated herein by reference. The basic apparatus includes a turret mounted for power driven rotation around a vertical axis, and it includes a plurality of mold cavities positioned in equal radial and arcuate spacing in the turret, a barrier means or piston is mounted for reciprocation in each mold cavity in the turret. The piston is cam-actuated by a cam positioned around the drive shaft which is on the axis of turret rotation. Applicant's co-pending application teaches urging the food material upwardly through the bottom opening in each mold cavity when the piston is in its uppermost position. The turret is rotated approximately 180.degree., and the piston reciprocates downwardly and forces the patty out of the mold cavity. A stationary wire cut-off means for separating the patty from the piston bottom surface is positioned across the lowest portion of the path of travel of the piston bottom face. Normally, the patty includes a binder, some grease, or other material so that it sticks to the piston bottom face because of surface tension. Both the patty and the piston bottom surface sweep across the wire cut-off at the juncture of the two. After separation, the patty is gently positioned on a conveyor.
Other edible patty-making machinery utilizing a rotatable turret and a reciprocating barrier means or piston positioned inside each mold cavity include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,770,202; 3,452,389; and 3,461,483 which all eject a patty upwardly from a mold cavity positioned in the turret. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,245, meatballs are ejected downwardly from the mold cavities in which they are formed. However, in that disclosure, the meatballs are scraped from the bottom surface of the barrier means by a rigid knife structure which, by its nature and angled mounting, deforms the food product.
Patents which disclose auger means for feeding edible material into mold cavities include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,757,411; 2,793,394; 3,887,964; and 3,731,345. All of the above mentioned patents disclose conventional augers which may become clogged by edible material sticking to the auger blade or to the auger housing. Patents which disclose vents in patty-making machinery for relieving air from the mold cavity include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,386,129 and 3,731,345. However, the use of air vents for letting air escape the mold cavity as food material is pushed into it, also provides an outlet in which excess food material becomes clogged. Prolonged sticking of agglomerable edible food material on augers or in air vents leads to unsanitary conditions.